Monday, June 14, 2010

(Scene: morning time; approximately 9:30am. We are looking for breakfast, and stop at a cafe. The display window, an oddly standard thing in Japan, shows pancakes, waffles, and other options, but with the labels and prices turned around. We enter.)

Us: Are you still serving breakfast?

Server: Yes. We are serving our morning menu.

Us: What about the pancakes and waffles? Their cards are turned around.

Server: We serve morning menu only now.

Us: The waffles are not part of the morning menu?

Server: Those are on afternoon menu.

Us: For lunch?

Server: Yes.

(We look at the morning menu. Fish, rice, omelet served over rice. Some noodles.)

As some of you know, we just returned from a trip to Japan. We learned many things. Today's lesson regards meals. The Japanese don't eat dessert after dinner. But worry not.

Seems like there is a Breakfast/Lunch/Mystery meal/Dinner schedule going on. Mystery meal seems to be served sometime between 1PM and 5PM, and from what we can tell consists of: Parfaits, Waffles, Pancakes, Cakes, Sundaes, Donuts, Coffee etc. It may sound like a sort of tea-time, but only if your took tea-time at Farrell's as a kid. The more frilly the dish, the better. And since 85% of all things in Japan are matcha-flavored, you will see a lot of green in your 'meal'. Favorite thing I saw was a sundae with corn flakes on the bottom, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a scoop of matcha ice cream, 2 whole bananas, 12 pounds of strawberries, an entire slice of cake, a pile of whip cream, with a cherry on top. Seriously. Almost every restaurant serves this meal. We saw it often advertised as cake set. And don't forget, dinner starts at six...